
Class Q. 



HOUSE .... No. 1696 



Cfte Commontoealtf) of ^a00ac|)U0ett0« 




EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONEKS APPOINTED TO 
INVESTIGATE AS TO THE FEASIBILITY 
AND PROBABLE COST OF TAKING LAKE 
QUINSIGAMOND AND ITS SHORES FOR A 
STATE RESERVATION. 



To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives. 

The undersigned, a commission authorized and directed 
by chapter 529 of the Acts of 1911 to consider the feasibility 
and cost of taking Lake Quinsigamond with its shores as a 
reservation, beg leave to report as follows : — 

The act under which this report is made is as follows : — 

An Act to provide tor an Investigation as to the Feasibility 
AND Probable Cost of taking Lake Quinsigamjond and 
ITS Shores for a State Reservation. 

Be it enacted, etc., as follows: 

Section 1. The governor, with the advice and consent of the 
council, shall appoint three persons, residents of the county of 
Worcester, who shall investigate the feasibility of taking Lake 
Quinsigamond, so-called, in the city of Worcester and the town of 
Shrewsbury, with its shores and sufficient approaches thereto, and 
maintaining it as a city, county or state reservation. They shall, 
report to the next general court, not later than January fifteenth, 
stating the probable cost of the said taking, and they may expend 
a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars in carrying out the pro- 
visions of this act. 



2 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

Section 2. The expenses hereunder shall be paid out of an ap- 
propriation for that purpose made by the county of Worcester. 

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Ap- 
proved June 6, 1911. 

In pursuance of the authority thus conferred, the commis- 
sion has given two public hearings, one at the council cham- 
ber of the citv hall, Worcester, on the fifth day of October, 
1911, and one at the hall of the Worcester Board of Trade 
on the fourth day of January, 1912. Conferences have been 
held wi\h the selectmen of Shrewsbury and with a business 
men's club of the same town ; numerous conferences have also 
been held with many residents and land owners upon the 
shores of the lake; with representatives of clubs at the lake 
and with citizens of Worcester and Shrewsbury. The lake 
and its environs have been inspected by the commission, and 
they have availed themselves of the investigation and report 
of Mr. Arthur A. Shurtlelf, landscape architect, of Boston. 

Accompanying this report are two maps showing the lake 
and so much of the shore as includes the adjacent highways. 
Map A indicates the location and extent of private owner- 
ship by numerical reference to the accompanying index of 
owners, and map B forms part of the accompanying report 
made to the commission by Mr. Arthur A. ShurtlefF. 

Also accompanying this report is a list of private owners, 
numerically arranged, to serve as an index to the numbers 
on map A; 22 photographs giving views of the lake and its 
residential development, and communications from boat 
users, residents and from citizens representing public or 
private interests at the lake. 

The duties imposed upon the commission are limited to 
a consideration of the feasibility and cost of a city, county 
or State reservation at Lake (^uinsigamond, thereby implying 
its desirability. It will not be irrelevant, however, to review 
some of the conditions existing at the lake, as they were an 
important factor in arriving at this report as justifying its 
recommendations. 

Lake Quinsigamond occupies a narrow basin about 5 miles 
in length, lying in a northerly and southerly direction be- 



<b^ 






1912.] HOUSE — No. 1696. 3 

tween the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury, both 
in the county of Worcester, and extending from Lincoln 
Street on the north to Harrington Street on the south. The 
dividing line between Worcester and Shrewsbury extends 
lengthwise the lake, with the greater part of its surface in 
the town of Shrewsbury. A highway encompasses the lake 
in some places close to its shores, and in others several hun- 
dred feet distant. An artificial causeway divides the lake 
nearly midway its length, having a single bridge over a 
narrow and shallow channel, which furnishes the only water 
communication between the divided portions of the lake. 
The causeway supports a road forming part of the main 
thoroughfare between the eastern and western portions of the 
State, supplanting the old colonial highway, or " great road," 
between Massachusetts Bay and the Connecticut River, pass- 
ing the north end of the lake. This thoroughfare is now the 
main or trunk line for automobiles between ISTew York and 
Boston. The causeway also contains a single track electric 
railway which is used jointly by a line between Worcester 
and the city of Marlborough, by a local line from Worcester 
along the shore of the lake on the Shrewsbury side, and by 
the cars of the Boston & Worcester Electric Eailroad. 

At the north end of the lake is a smaller body of water, 
known as Indian Head Pond, emptying into the lake. At 
the south end is a natural pond, known as Flint Pond, and 
several communicating bodies of water, having ragged and 
irregular outlines created by the flowage of low lands in 
raising the water of the lake by a manufacturing establish- 
ment upon the stream forming the outlet of the lake. 

Quinsigamond lake is fed by springs and tributary brooks 
and has a depth, in much of its area, of from 50 to 100 feet. 
The shore is irregular, with bays and projecting headlands 
for the most part wooded, and rising abruptly, giving a pan- 
orama of such attractiveness as to compel from the visitor 
the exclamation, " What a beautiful lake ! " 

The waters of the lake, long a favorite rendezvous for the 
few, and in earlier years the scene of aquatic sports and con- 
tests, have now become the popular resort for the many, and 
the center of the boating interest for a populous territory. 



4 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

Its present fleet comprises a steamboat line, 125 motor 
boats, about 2,000 rowboats and canoes and several steam 
launches for hire. These ply the lake wholly free from re- 
striction or regulation of any sort, each boatman being a law 
unto himself. The congestion in the narrow and most fre- 
quented parts of the lake and the absence of boating regula- 
tions renders navigation extremely unsatisfactory and for 
small boats and canoes, unsafe. Fatalities are numerous, 
with no organized or efficient provision for rescue or restora- 
tion in case of accident. The discordant sounds of unmuf- 
fled motor boats and the boisterous revelry of the inconsider- 
ate, or evil disposed, give abundant evidence of that license 
which immunity from all police restraint encourages. Under 
present conditions the waters of the lake, owned by the Com- 
monwealth and environed by scenery unexcelled among the 
many beautiful lakes of 'New England, will soon cease to be 
a pleasure resort for the peaceable and law-abiding, if not 
a menace to public order and public morals. 

Adequate police regulation and control, exercised by some 
authority having jurisdiction over the entire surface of the 
lake, with proper equipment for the saving of life from 
drowning, seems to the commission to be urgently demanded 
as a necessity for the promotion of public enjoyment of the 
lake and for the preservation of public order, 

ISTorth of the causeway on the Worcester side are three 
publicly owned tracts bordering upon the lake. One is owned 
by the Commonwealth for a State hospital; a second by the 
Worcester JSTatural History Society for a summer camp of 
instruction in nature study, and the third by the city of 
Worcester as a home for its poor. ISTeither of these three 
tracts, nor any of the shore north of the causeway on the 
Worcester side, is open to the public, except a narrow strip 
extending a short distance north from the causeway between 
Lake Avenue and the lake, and including what is known as 
Eegatta Point which, by legislative enactment, has been 
placed under the control of the park commissioners of the 
city of Worcester. South of the causeway on the Worcester 
side, a tract of 110 acres bordering upon the lake is owned 



1912.] HOUSE — No. 1696. 5 

bj tlie city of Worcester as a public park, known as Lake 
Park. With the above exceptions the entire shore of the 
lake upon both the Worcester and Shrewsbury sides is pri- 
vately ov^ied. 

Two pleasure resorts, privately operated, are located on 
the Worcester and Shrewsbury shores adjacent to the cause- 
way, known respectively as Lincoln Park and the White 
City. Sixteen clubs, with a substantial membership, occupy 
owned or leased club houses of attractive appearance. Nearly 
the entire shore line not now occupied by buildings, or pub- 
licly owned, has been subdivided into house lots and placed 
upon the market. Upon many of these are residences, either 
for summer use or all the year occupation, of sightly appear- 
ance and with cleanly and well-kept surroundings. Many 
of the bungalow type of recent erection are architecturally 
pleasing. Some, however, show that little attention has been 
given to conserving the attractiveness of the lake, or to san- 
itary or aesthetic considerations. In some sections the build- 
ings are unduly crowded; in others little regard lias been 
given to the architecture, color, location or surroundings. 
In some sections shelters of temporary character and un- 
sightly appearance, injudiciously located, despoil the lake of 
its beauty. 

'No- efficient fire regulations and precautions exist to lessen 
the risk of conflagration in congested sections. No forestry 
regulations restrain the greedy or indifferent from denuding 
the beautifully wooded .slopes of the lake. No efficient sani- 
tary regulations safeguard the public health. ISTo adequate 
police control is enforced to restrain the evil doer, or to hold 
in check the dissolute or irresponsible, who may seek for 
private gain to commercialize either legitimate pleasure or 
vicious indulgence. 

The police jurisdiction is divided. On one side is a grow- 
ing municipality of 150,000 inhabitants, with varied and 
costly interests to care for. On the other side is a small 
town of about 2,000 inhabitants of limited resources, with a 
scattered population almost entirely agricultural, and re- 
moved from the activities of the lake. With few common 



6 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

interests and with no ability for proper co-operative actionj 
it is not surprising that some conditions should exist not 
wholly creditable to the Commonwealth, and that relief 
should be sought, which the Commonwealth alone can afford. 

Lake Quinsigamond and its wooded slopes is one of the 
most valuable assets among the many attractive scenes which 
enrich the Commonwealth. It ministers to the love of nature 
and to an appreciation of its charms for a large community 
outside its immediate vicinity. Pleasure seekers, schools, 
clubs and various organizations from distant as well as adja- 
cent tovsTis, and from the capital of the Commonwealth, are 
attracted thither in increasing numbers by the facilities for 
communication afforded by the many electric car lines, and 
especially by the express electric line running half-hourly 
between Boston and Worcester. To jeopardize its present 
charm, or to neglect its future development, would be inex- 
cusable. 

After taking into account the several interests involved, 
and in consideration of existing conditions at the lake, the 
commission recommends that the Commonwealth set apart 
a district covering the area inclosed by the boundary line 
indicated upon the accompanying maps, which shall be known 
as the Lake Quinsigamond District. 

That within this district a board of commissioners shall 
have power, prescribed by statute, to exercise police authority 
in the enforcement of such rules and regulations upon both 
land and water as, in their judgment, the public good may 
require. 

The proper control of the waters of the lake and the shore 
within the contemplated district, the commission estimates, 
will require an annual expenditure of $6,000, equally di- 
vided between the lake and the shore. To equip the lake 
patrol will require an expenditure of approximately $2,000 
for motor boats equipped with life-saving apparatus. 

The areas recommended by Mr, Shurtleff for taking by the 
Commonwealth, as shown on map B, comprise a narrow strip 
on the Shrewsbury side north of the Sanctuary, so-called, 
and extending partially around Indian Head Pond; a small 



1912.] HOUSE — No. 1696. 7 

tract between the north end of the lake and Lincoln Street, 
with an adjoining triangular piece north of Lincoln Street ; 
two tracts immediately north and south of the land of the 
Worcester ISTatural History Society, and the entire border 
of Flint Pond and adjacent bodies of water at the south end 
of the lake. The commission concurs with the recommenda- 
tions and suggestions contained in the report of Mr. Shurt- 
leff, that the areas indicated for taking on map B, accom- 
panying his report, should eventually become the property 
of the Commonwealth. 

In the judgment of the commission, however, the immedi- 
ate purchase of this entire area does not seem imperative 
nor justified by a wise economy; but forest and uncultivated 
tracts at each end of the lake should be early acquired and 
dedicated to the public, sufficient to provide picnic grounds, 
boat landings without trespassing upon private property, 
fields for athletic sports and playgrounds, objective points 
for boatmen and canoeists, and attractive resorts for patrons 
of the steamboat line and the public in general ; and at the 
same time conserve the present attractive shore line and 
secure the opportunity for intelligent supervision and future 
development. The cost of such unimproved tracts at the 
ends of the lake the commission estimates as $75,000, and, 
in their judgment, the sum of $12,000 will be required for 
their maintenance and development. 

The commission, therefore, recommends an appropriation, 
from the revenues of the Commonwealth, of the sum of $95,- 
000 for the following purposes : the sum of $75,000 for ac- 
quiring such forest and uncultivated land at the north and 
south ends of the lake, and within the district, as in the jridg- 
ment of the commission should be at once reserved for public 
use; the sum of $12,000 for the maintenance and develop- 
ment of land so acquired ; the sum of $6,000 for police ser- 
vice upon the land which may be included within the district 
and upon the waters of the lake, already owned by the Com- 
monwealth ; and the sum of $2,000 for the equipment of the 
lake patrol. 

As the police control upon the land within the district 



8 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

will be largely substitutional to that already exercised by 
the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury, the com- 
mission recommends that the Commonwealth be reimbursed 
for the entire expenditure for police service upon land within 
the dis.trict by the city of Worcester and the town of Shrews- 
bury, in proportion to the assessed value of the taxable prop- 
erty in each of said municipalities ; and that any municipal- 
ity having taxable property within the district which may 
be acquired by the Commonwealth shall be reimbursed for 
the loss of taxes on property so acquired. 

The commission also presents a bill, accompanying this 
report, for carrying into effect the recommendations herein 
contained. 

JOHN E. THAYER. 

EUFUS B. EOWLEE. 

WILLIAM T. EOEBES. 

Worcester, Mass., Jan. 26, 1912. 




I REPO 

ONER 



A 



COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 

LAKE QUIN5IGAM0ND COMMISSION 

PLAN OF 

DISTRICT BOUNDARY LIKE, 

AND 

TAPUNGS 

TO ACCOMRANY THE REPORT OF 

THE COMMISSIONERS 




J.ANDS ALItEADV IN PUBUC OR SZMl PUBLK COKTROL 

LANDS TO BE TA14EN 

LANDS C0NTR0UEDBY¥ORCEST£RPARR COMMISSION 



1912.1 HOUSE — No. 1696. 



EEPOET OF AETHUR A. SHURTLEFF, LAIStD- 
SCAPE AECHI OT. 



Lake Qiiinsigamond is now passing rapidly through, a his- 
tory of gradual degradation which has been the lot of many 
similar pleasure resorts owned by private individuals and 
subject to no comprehensive scheme of control. The well- 
known experience of Boston in parallel conditions at the 
ISTeponset Eiver, Muddy Eiver and at Eevere Beach illus- 
trates not only the appalling degree to which such landscapes 
and living conditions may finally suffer for want of needed 
control, but also the prompt success and lasting satisfaction 
which may be expected from systematic work of protection, 
improvement and maintenance intrusted to properly consti- 
tuted commissions. Unless the public takes a hand after this 
manner in the preservation of the shores of the lake, this 
great natural recreation ground will soon be mutilated beyond 
repair, and a nuisance of unsanitary conditions will exist 
there. 

A gi'owing city rapidly modifies the natural landscapes of 
its environs and tends finally to destroy them absolutely. 
The finer such landscapes and the greater the number of 
persons resorting to them for recreation and residence, the 
sooner their destruction is brought about. Eapid, indiscrim- 
inate occupation of such territory by dwellings and the con- 
sequent removal of forest cover, the obliterating of gTass 
land, the erosion of hillsides and the pollution of waters, 
automatically destroy the very beauty which at first brought 
the householder and the visitor to it. The destruction of 
this beauty and the decline of its associated recreative attrac- 
tiveness usually brings about a shift in population ; old resi- 
dents move away, land is further subdivided and dwellings 
increase rapidly. When this shift brings in permanent resi- 



10 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

dents with stores, schools, churches, proper streets and 
sewers, desirable living conditions naturally follow. When, 
on the contrary, this shift brings in a moving population 
subsisting upon pleasure seekers, through the operation of 
dance halls, theatres, eating booths, catch-penny shows and 
shanty homes, a public nuisance is bound to follow. A period 
of shift of this kind has begun at Lake Quinsigamond. Its 
famous landscapes, though still largely intact, have suffered 
serious inroads by the destruction of woodland, filling of 
shores, burrowing of banks, construction of shacks and other 
works. Changes of this kind which have taken place during 
the last three years about the lake show clearly that, unless 
some check is exercised by the public the landscapes of this 
water sheet will soon be hurt seriously, and a rapid exodus 
of the more permanent residents will follow. The incoming 
tide of cheap amusements, dance halls and shanty homes, 
with their unsanitary living conditions, may then be ex- 
pected to gain complete control as the larger estates change 
hands and are cut up into petty camp sites. The need of 
public control is plain; it should be secured before devasta- 
tion has proceeded to an extreme and while unoccupied land 
can be acquired at moderate cost. 

The report of the commissioners discusses at leng-th a plan 
of district control, which, if put in operation, would con- 
serve the beauty and usefulness of the lake and leave in the 
hands of the present owners the greatest individual freedom 
for the development of their land compatible with the inter- 
ests of the public at large. This plan should be of especial 
interest to the individual property holders, because it offers 
them the only assurance for keeping intact the charms of 
the lake, for its sanitation and for its public safety. The 
perpetuation of private OA\Tiership upon the immediate lake 
shores, if properly guarded, should tend to advance rather 
than to injure the attractiveness of the lake landscapes. In 
the course of time attractive villas and clubs are likely to be 
built upon such holdings, making pleasing and lively con- 
trast with the adjoining woodlands and with extensive public 
lands at the extremities of the lake. In my opinion the tak- 



1912.] HOUSE — No. 1696. 11 

ing of large tracts of unimproved land at the northern and 
sonthen ends of Lake Quinsigamond is very essential to a 
farsighted policy for the preservation of its landscapes. The 
northern territory is remarkably interesting topographically, 
and abounds in fine woodland upon abrupt knolls. The 
southerly ramifications of the lake in Flint Pond are also 
exceedingly fine, but less abnipt in character, and afford 
fine opportunity for extensive pi ay fields and picnic grounds. 
A large part of these lands at both extremities of the lake 
are unsuitable for building purposes, either owing to their 
extraordinary steepness or their low marshy character. 
These very characteristics, however, recommend them for 
park purposes. I have examined these tracts in detail, and 
I indicate upon the accompanying plan the limits of the tak- 
ings which seem to me desirable. 

I also strongly advise the taking of the several islands in 
the lake which are united by Harrington Street. These 
islands and adjoining peninsulas, if owned by the public, 
would provide needed recreation grounds for a constantly 
increasing pleasure-going community, and, at the same time, 
would afford the best protection to the wider water views of 
the lake. The smaller islands are less essential for recreative 
use, but, as time goes by, they will become more important 
features in the lake prospects. Some of them might be ac- 
quired later if need be, but others should be allowed to become 
sites for attractive villas or boat clubs under the supervision 
of a commission. 

There is a long, narrow reach of picturesque and exceed- 
ingly steep-wooded shore between the lake and Quinsigamond 
Avenue, north of the Sanctuary, which is not suited to build- 
ing operations, but which contributes in an important way 
to the romantic landscapes of this part of the water sheet. 
It is essential to prevent shacks from gaining a further foot- 
hold upon this territory, and I strongly recommend takings 
from the Sanctuary northward to Seal's Head Bay, as indi- 
cated on the plan. Takings immediately south and north 
of the Worcester iN'atural History Society's park and on Lin- 
coln Street also seem to me important. These lands lie so 



12 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

close to the water's edge that their development cannot wisely 
be left to individual owners. 

The outlines of the Quinsigamond Lake District have been 
studied with a view to include the smallest possible amount 
of territory commensurate with a proper protection of the 
lake for the purposes which the commission discusses fully in 
its report. Along the borders of Quinsigamond Avenue this 
district line is drawn with few exceptions at a uniform dis- 
tance of 100 feet from the easterly side line of the street. 
ISTear Old Faith and Duck harbor the line swings consider- 
ably further toward the east, in order to protect shores which 
are exceedingly narrow and above which small shacks are 
now perching on an extended high terrace. In the vicinity 
of Flint Pond, where land is unimproved and inexpensive, 
the district line is drawn at a greater distance from the 
water. It follows the railway track closely to the vicinity of 
the ice houses ^ and then returns to the ISForth Grafton Road 
at a minimum distance of 100 feet. Adjoining Lake Ave- 
nue the district line follows the railroad tracks as far as the 
Circuit Road, and then returns to the neighborhood of the 
lake as indicated. Following the line of Coburn Avenue at 
its northerly end, the district line is carried directly to the 
westerly margin of the Worcester ^Natural History Park, 
from which point it makes a circuit of the northern end of 
the lake, conforming closely to topographical lines and high- 
ways, and finally returns to the margin of Quinsigamond 
Avenue just inland from Summer Point. 

The establishment of these functional lines, combined with 
the takings of land recommended under the guardianship of 
a well-constituted commission, should secure to the public 
for all time the beauty and highest usefulness of the lake. 

Respectfully submitted, 

ARTHUR A. SHURTLEFF. 

Jan. 12, 1912. 

1 These buildings, with proper restrictions, might be allowed to continue their business 
operations for many years. 



ASSACH 

sID C 

*lRY LI 




G R AFVo N 



COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 




LAKE QUIN5IGAM0ND COMMISSION JHiEliEF^'^" 

PLAN OF ( 

DISTRICT BOUNDARY LIME. 



AND 

TAKINGS 
TO ACCOMPANY THE REPORT OF 

ARTHUB. A.SWIRTlI.n' JLANBSCAPE ARCHITECT 

BOSTON. JANUARY 1312. 

SCALES 

""TEET 




DI5TB.ICT BOUMHARY UKS 
-WATBR.S OF LAIVE AUD POMDS 

LREADY IN PUBUC OB. *EMI PUBUC CONTIIOI. 

lakds to be TAKBN 

|gj.^jj LAISLDS CONTROl-LEDBy VORCESTEB.PABK. COMMI54I0M 



1912. 



HOUSE — No. :'^96. 



13 



Appendix A. 



Index to Property Owners on the Shore of Lake Quinsig- 
am0nd_, arranged numerically^ corresponding with num- 
BERS ON ACCOMPANYING MaP A, BEGINNING ON THE SoUTH 

Side of the Causeway on the Worcester Side of the Lake. 



1. Lincoln Park. 

2. Mabel C. Crandall. 

3. A. A. Coburn. 

4. H. H. Bigelow heirs. 

5. City of Worcester. 

6. Lakeside Boat Club. 

7. H. H. Merriam, trustee. 

8. Y. M. C. A. 

9. Jesse J. Coburn estate. 

10. West Shore Association. 

11. Victor Gr. Gauthier. 

12. Sinai Letiecq. 

13. Hattie L. Hooper. 

14. Andrew J. Hooper. 

15. Frederick H. Greenwood. 

16. Wm. I. Mitchell. 

17. James W. Fernald. 

18. George E. Hapgood. 

19. Walker Ice Company. 

20. Engelbrekt Club. 

21. W. Atlee Putnam. 

22. Mary F. Washburn. 

23. Quinsigamond Boat Club. 

24. Chester E. Greene. 

25. Louisa A. Greene. 

26. John F. Smith. 

27. EIroy A. Chase. 

28. Harry M. Winchester. 

29. M. E. D. Stoddard. 

30. Amy L. Stoddard. 

31. Y. M. C. A. 

32. George C. Moss. 

33. H. H. Bigelow estate. 



34. 
35. 
36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
42. 
43. 
44. 
45. 
46. 
47. 
48. 
49. 
50. 
51. 
52. 
53. 
54. 
55. 
56. 
57. 
58. 
59. 
60. 
61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 
65. 
66. 



Howe. 

Tebeau. 

Holidg. 

John W. Heal. 

Gilmore. 

Michael Valva. 
Joseph M. Curran. 
Fred J. Moran. 
Dennis Tracy. 

H. H. Bigelow estate. 
John Olson. 
Olof Person. 

Enberg. 

H. H. Bigelow estate. 
Anderson & Olson. 
Hedstrom. 

Lundwall. 

H. E. Johnson. 

H. H. Bigelow estate. 
Chas. Vilandre. 
Charles C. Carlson. 
H. H. Bigelow estate. 
Margaret B. Smith. 
Albini Belisle. 
William Baker. 
Arthur W. Wilson. 
Ellen B. Tuttle. 
Johanna C. Stohlberg. 
Anna M. Trulson. 
Everett W. Durgin. 
Louis E. Booth. 
Florence E. Durgin. 
West Shore Association. 



14 



LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. 



[Feb. 



67. 
68. 
69. 
70. 
71. 
72. 
73. 
74. 
75. 
76. 
77. 
78. 
79. 
80. 
81. 
82. 
83. 
84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 



89. 
90. 
91. 
92. 
93. 
94. 
95. 
96. 
97. 
98. 
99. 
100. 

101. 
102. 

103. 

104. 
105. 
106, 
]07, 



Point D. and O'Hara's line. 

M. J. O'Hara. 

J. Alfred Johnson. 

Albin Sjostrom. 

Oscar Smith. 

Walter H. Bosworth. 

Fred and Albert Johnson. 

John A. Bohlin. 

John Johnson. 

Jonas Johnson. 

Sophia Oslund. 

Gilbert Sunberg. 

Hanah Dohorne. 

Conrad Spongberg. 

Ernest Dahlstrom. 

F. J. Bosquet. 

F. W. Wheeler. 

Victor Roland. 

Carl J. Ekstedt. 

Sophia Qvarnstrom. 

Fred J. Stone. 

Commercial Transportation 

Company. 
Elizabeth P. Bond. 
Crescent Club. 
Alexander Dupree. 
Franklin S. Fay. 
Peter Hamel. 
Rudolph Libby. 
Catherine McAvey. 
Eliza J. Newton. 
Jesse 0. Norcross. 
Joseph Rhodes. 
William Van Deventer. 
Mrs. Joseph G. Vaudriel 

heirs. 
Jessie Smith. 
Finlayson Flax Spinning 

Com^Dany. 
Frederick and Levi F. 

Flagg. 
Henry Bartlett heirs. 
Warren D. Hobbs. 
Charles E. Hicks. 
Mary S. Hastings. 



108. Robert Farrington. 

109. Fred J. Stone. 

110. John Dohalm. 

111. English Social Club. 

112. Nils Vendt. 

113. Samuel Maxwell. 

114. John Buckley. 

115. Carl E. Carlson. 

116. John Hjort. 

117. Alfred Jordan. 

118. Joseph H. Oliver. 

119. Lillian Ramsdell. 

120. Joseph B. Thayer. 

121. Fridolf Spets. 

122. Eli L. Belisle. 

123. Joseph B. Babbit. 

124. Sarah J. Crosbie. 

125. Carl J. Ekstedt. 

126. Finlayson Flax Spinning 

Company. 

127. Fred J. Stone. 

128. Oscar P. Hall. 

129. John Johnson. 

130. Carl Hanson. 

131. Wilhelm Ekstrom. 

132. Christina Sunberg. 

133. Carl J. Ekstedt. 

134. K. Ivan Schonning. 

135. Augustus Salgren. 

136. Jolm -Johnson. 

137. John LofE. 

138. Sarah A. Oliver. 

139. Anglers Club. 

140. Joseph H. Oliver. 

141. Robert Farrington. 

142. Gustaf W. Krantz. 

143. John J. Crehan. 

144. Charles J. and Wadla A. 

Berg. 

145. James H. Hollinrake. 

146. Everett W. Woodhead. 

147. Fred J. Stone. 

148. Charles Nord. 

149. Frank A. S. Morse. 

150. Charles B. S. Jackson. 



1912.1 



HOUSE — No. 1696. 



15 



151. Samuel May. 

152. Ethel M. Welt. 

153. Joseph Joubert. 

154. Lena Loiseau. 

155. Caroline Wright. 

156. Fannie M. Holmes. 

157. Addie J. Whittemore. 

158. Stella A. Crandall. 

159. Sarah L. Ramsdell. 

160. Sadie H. Bartlett. 

161. Arthur H. Leblanc. 

162. Joseph Paradis heirs. 

163. Mrs. Alexander C. Dapper. 

164. Charles F. Joubert. 

165. Ezilda P. Prodgin. 

166. Joseph Thayer. 

167. Mary A. Sears heirs. 

168. Katherine Sayler. 

169. George W. Kilmer. 

170. Bridget Shields. 

171. Anna Bouchard. 

172. James C. Luby. 

173. Mary Connolly. 

174. James A. McDermott. 

175. Elizabeth Bradley. 

176. Tatassit Canoe Club. 

177. George A. Goodnow. 

178. Arthur Flagg. 

179. Edward C. Carlton. 

180. Emerenee Charron. 

181. Formerly J. J. Quinn. 

182. Eli Belisle. 

183. Octave Tetrault. 

184. Peter Benaglia et al. 

185. Henry Young. 

186. Annie G. Clark. 

187. Ida A. Kilmer. 

188. Mrs. Thomas Daniels. 

189. Social Turn Verein Club. 

190. James H. Quinn. 

191. Dennis T. O'Connor. 

192. August Frodigh. 

193. Svea Gille Association. 

194. Simon G. Friedman. 

195. Michael J. Connery heirs. 



196. J. J. Adams. 

197. J. B. Bertels. 

198. O'Hara. 

199. H. H. Gabeler. 

200. Washington Club. 

201. Emily M. Guertin. 

202. Catherine A. Horgan. 

203. Octagon Club. 

204. Martha M. Page and Kate 

Chaffin. 

205. A. M. Powell. 

206. Annie M. Ewell. 

207. S. E. Lawrence. 

208. Ernest Stone. 

209. Formerly T. C. Rice. 

210. H. G. Conger. 

211. Phoebe Ehnes. 
2111/2. Wm. F. Keef. 

212. J. C. Bieberbach. 

213. Frank P. Macomber. 

214. Henry and Julia Steinecke. 

215. Mabel M. Davis. 

216. Addie M. Nick. 

217. Nellie F. Holman. 

218. H. H. Bigelow heirs. 

219. Lakeside Construction Com- 

pany. 

220. Haas & Fenner. 

221. Mrs. Louisa Fenner. 

222. F. M. Haas heirs. 

223. Addie M. Nick. 

224. Lakeside Construction Com- 

pany. 

225. Boston & Worcester Street 

Railway. 

226. Maurice W. Shannon. 

227. Andrew G. Stanhope. 

228. Fannie E. Verstine. 

229. Oscar E. Bogren. 

230. Waehusett Boat Club. 

231. Frohsinn Society. 

232. J. W. Wilbur Company. 

233. Elizabeth M. Putnam. 

234. William Forsberg. 

235. Charles J. Jefferson. 



16 



LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. 



[Feb. 



236. Warren E. Beard. 

237. H. F. Dixon. 

238. George A. Bourgt. 

239. Francisco Giralde. 

240. Ora May Irish. 

241. Henry L. Thatcher. 

242. Anna L. Hinchley. 

243. W. Frank Ahern. 

244. Timothy and Margaret Sul- 

livan. 

245. William J. White. 

246. Arthur E. Leary. 

247. George G. Barsamariam. 

248. Herbert C. Bullard. 

249. Lottie M. Field. 

250. Comas Giard. 

251. Mabel Lefort. 

252. Bernard O'Beirne. 

253. Peter B. Benoit. 

254. Agnes Shepard. 

255. William H. Boland. 

256. Luciano Manzi. 

257. Scandinavian Lake Associa- 

tion. 

258. Swedish Gymnastic Associa- 

tion. 

259. James W. Grady. 



260. E. D. Clark and R. W. 

Davis. 

261. Alfred A. Parker. 

262. George C. Gilmore. 

263. Thomas H. Dodge heirs. 

264. Adeline J. Langlois and 

Rosalie F. Lesage. 

265. Romeo E. Allen. 

266. Christian 0. Peterson. 

267. Romeo E. Allen. 

268. Walter C. and Frank A. 

Knowlton. 

269. James W. Grady. 

270. David Williams et al. 

271. Arthur S. Darte. 

272. Victor C. Ekstrom. 

273. Edward P. Sumner. 

274. Frederick A. Hawes. 

275. Charles J. Cook. 

276. Fred J. Stone. 

277. Henry W. Briggs. 

278. Sigfrid B. E. Peterson. 

279. John Green. 

280. Notre Dame Normal Insti- 

tute. 

281. S. S. and James Green. 

282. S. G. Curtis. 



1912. 



HOUSE — No. 1696. 



17 



Appendix B. 



CoMMUNICATIOlsrS. 

To John R. Thayer, Rufus B. Fowler, William T. Forbes, Lahe 
Quinsigamond Commissioners. 
The undersigned owners of real estate or residents upon the 
shores of Lake Quinsigamond, in the town of Shrewsbury and 
in the city of Worcester, appreciating the need of better police 
supervision, and desiring that this section be made a more at- 
tractive and desirable place of residence, as well as a more 
orderly, safe and satisfactory pleasure and health resort for the 
public, approve of such State control of the lake and vicinity as 
will secure adequate police control, fire and forestry regulations, 
reasonable restrictions as to future erections, the preservation 
of public health and public morals, and an intelligent and wise 
supervision in its future development, in order that the value of 
property may be enhanced, the great scenic beauty and at- 
tractiveness of the lake preserved, and its public and private 
enjo3anent increased. 



John Dahlman. 
John F. Hjort. 
John E. Olson. 
Eh Behsle. 
John W. Heal. 
William S. Holliday. 
Fred J. Moran. 
C. F. Hedstrom. 
Anna Trulson. 
Margaret Ciirran. 
Alexander Belisle. 
W. Atlee Putnam. 
Maude S. Norcross. 
Octave Tetrault. 
G. W. Kilmer. 
Geo. A. Goodnow. 
Annie W. Ewell. 
Andrew G. Spets. 



Carl F. Thyden. 
Fred J. Bosquet. 
Ernest D. Clark. 
William Crosbie. 
H. H. Gabeler. 
J. C. Dapper. 
Carl E. Carlson. 
Sadie H. Bartlett. 
F. P. Maeomber. 
Oscar Smith. 
H. E. Crandell. 
Chas. H. Page. 
Michael J. O'Hara. 
Johanna C. Stohlberg. 
Fridolf Spets. 
Emanuel Krubbfeldt. 
J. Alfred Nyberg. 
John A. Magnuson. 



18 



LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. 



[Feb. 



Chas. E. Hicks. 
Dwight E. Clark. 
Henry E. Newton. 
George C. Gilmore. 
S. Herbert Edgeeomb. 
Frank A. S. Morse. 
M. J. Sweeny. 
B. Joseph Bertels. 
Carl J. Ekstedt. 
A. E. Soulliere. 
John B. Simard. 



W. A. Childs. 

John Johnson. 

Chester E. Greene. 

Frederick Nick. 

John Buckley. 

Everett W. Durgin. 

Scandinavian Lake Association, 

per Harold Werme. 
Nils Vendt. 
William Forsberg. 
Arthur S. Darte. 



To John E. Thayer, Rufus B. Fowler, William T. Forbes, Lake 
Quinsigamond Commissioners. 

The undersigned owners and users of boats upon Lake Quin- 
sigamond respectively represent that the ownership of its waters 
is vested in the Commonwealth, and that boating upon the lake 
has become so great that its regulation is now imperative. 
About 125 motor boats, a steamboat line and a large number of 
boats and canoes ply its waters during each season, and their 
number is fast increasing. 

The present lack of any supervision or control deters many 
from the enjoyment of boating, multiplies the risk of accident 
and deprives the lake of needed facilities for the prevention of 
fatalities which occur each year. One or two patrolmen having 
police authority, in swift motor boats equipped with life-saving 
appliances, would greatly enhance the value and safety of the 
lake as a pleasure resort. 

We ask you, therefore, to urge upon the Legislature the urgent 
necessity of police regulation exercised by some competent board 
under the authority of the Commonwealth. 



Worcester Motor Boat Club, 

Arthur Burtelle, commodore. 
John W. Heal. 
Aurelius F. Wheeler. 
W. A. Van Deventer. 
Chas. D. Paterson. 
Howard Blum. 
Henry E. Newton. 
Sumner G. Cooper. 
Sidney Bergstrom. 
Harry Mills. 
Wm. A. Moffatt. 



Henry E. Rathbun. 
Elmer A. George. 
Wm. L. Brown. 
Howard E. Crandell. 
Harry W. Dickinson. 
Carl Sundstrom. 
J. A. Y. Michon. 
Gilbert Sundberg. 
George C. Berg. 
Oscar Pope. 

Arthur Holmes, secretary. 
C. Vernon Paterson. 



1912.1 HOUSE — No. 1696. 19 



Worcester Natural History Society, 
12 State Street, Worcester, Mass., Jan. 25, 1912. 

To John R. Thayer, Rufus B. Fowler, William T. Forbes, Lake 
Quinsigamond Commissioners. 

Gentlemen : — The Worcester Natural History Society owns 
a tract of some 40 acres of land on the northwest shore of Lake 
Quinsigamond, called the Natural History Park. 

For the past twenty-seven years there has been established 
there a summer camp for boys and girls, school teachers and 
nature students under the auspices of the Worcester Natural 
History Society. 

As president of the society and manager of the camp from 
June to November, and visiting it frequently during the other 
months of the year, I have become quite familiar with condi- 
tions at that end of the lake. I think it would add greatly to 
the value of the lake to have it under proper police control. 

The proposed plan to establish a district, including the lake, 
to be under control of a commission with authority to enforce 
wholesome rules and regulations, both upon the lake and its 
shores, meets with my approval, and I trust the area owned by 
the Natural History Society may be included within such a 
district. 

Eespectfully yours, 

(Signed) A. H. EAYMENTON. 

The Young Men's Christian Association, 
Worcester, Mass., Jan. 15, 1912. 

To the Lake Quinsigamond Commission, Mr. R. B. Fowleb, Secre- 
tary. 

Gentlemen : — In behalf of the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation of the city of Worcester I desire to express to your 
honorable body our earnest hope that the State may consider 
favorably the report of your commission and accept your recom- 
mendations. 

For twenty-three years this association has conducted summer 
work at Lake Quinsigamond. As you know, we have quite a 
plant of our own, with attractive boat house, complete equip- 
ment, etc. We also have a beautiful camp site just below 
Lake Park, but have never been able to use the latter satisfac- 
torily because of the lack of police protection. 



20 LAKE QUINSIGAMOND. [Feb. 

The future of our work at the lake is quite a question because 
of the rapid growth of lawlessness and disorder. Last summer 
is was actually unsafe for our members to be out in canoes or 
rowboats in the evening because of the recklessness of the owners 
of auto boats; also the conditions along the shores of the lake 
were far from desirable. 

Lake Quinsigamond is a great asset to the city of Worcester 
for weal or woe. Governed as it is at present, it is certainly 
running down, and we feel that about the only hope for it is in 
some such plan as your commission has outlined. 

Eespectfully yours, 

(Signed) F. L. WILLIS, 
General Secretary. 

WoECEsTER, Mass., Jan. 12, 1912. 
RuFus B. Fowler, Esq. 

Deae Sik : — The Quinsigamond Boat Club has been in exist- 
ence since 1857. Our present club house was built in 1884 and 
we have a membership of about 100. We have seen the crowds 
at the lake increasing year by year, and are naturally much in- 
terested in the preservation of order there. At present, though 
there is slight police control on the Worcester shore there is less 
than that upon the Shrewsbury side and none at all upon the 
water itself. While I cannot speak officially for the Q. B. C, 
I am personally strongly in favor of the plan as outlined by you 
at the hearing in the Board of Trade Hall. 

Yours very truly, 

(Signed) OLIVEE H. EVEEETT, 

President Quinsigamond Boat Club. 

Worcester, Mass., Jan. 12, 1912. 

Mr. RuFUS FovTLER, Chairman Quinsigamond Lake Commission, 
Worcester, Mass. 
My dear Mr. Eowler : — I am very sorry that the Quinsiga- 
mond Boat Club, the oldest and probably the best known of the 
lake clubs, will not have a meeting until after your report has 
gone into the Legislature, and consequently I cannot endorse 
your scheme as an officer of the club. Individually, I was abso- 



1912.] HOUSE — No. 1696. 21 

lutely converted by the meeting last week, and would be glad to 
do anything in my power to help the plan as outlined by you 
that night. 

Very truly yours, 

(Signed) L. F. WOODWAED. 

The Worcestee National Bank, 

WoHCESTEH, Mass., Jan. 12, 1912. 

Mr. RuFUS B. Fowler, Secretary of the Commission of the State 
Reservation for Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester, Mass. 

Dear Sir : — As one of the older members of the Quinsiga- 
mond Boat Club, I have been a frequent visitor to the lake for 
fifty years, and wish to say to you that I heartily approve of the 
plan of the reservation of the lake that is proposed by your 
commission. 

Yours very truly, 

(Signed) J. P. HAMILTOIT. 




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